Unixmo

Unixmo, a New Zealand–based marketplace focused on automobiles and related products, aimed to expand into the neighboring Australian market by attracting more suppliers among both individuals and businesses. Another key goal was to promote its partnership with Capricorn—a 50-year-old automotive industry association that supports small and medium businesses, offering over 50 business support programs and a member-to-member discount system. Additionally, Unixmo needed to implement automated payments (including refunds) via Caplink, Capricorn’s payment platform, and resolve performance issues caused by the large volume of products and site features.

Solution
Simtech Development adapted the marketplace to support two vendor types: individuals on a free plan for selling second-hand items, and companies on paid plans for large-scale sales. Vendor registration was streamlined into a mandatory step for all and an additional step for companies, with product listing consolidated into a single form and vendor data auto-filled from registration details. For the partnership program, we developed the Capricorn membership discount module, which automatically detects membership, displays applicable discounts, and offers non-members the option to join. The Caplink payment gateway was integrated to enable transparent transactions and automated refunds without bank involvement. To improve performance, we delivered a custom hosting solution with a dedicated domain, SSL security, database optimization, and a cache-generation script to speed up page loads.

Result
By the end of 2022, the number of Unixmo vendors grew by 35% compared to 2020, with over 100 sellers joining Capricorn and gaining access to benefits such as preferential loans and business development support. Automated refunds via Caplink simplified financial transactions, making them faster and more transparent. Hosting optimization improved page load speed by 17%, eliminating previous complaints about site slowness. These enhancements enabled Unixmo to revise its business strategy—replacing free registration with a three-month free service period for new sellers—strengthening the platform’s value proposition and its position in both the Australian and New Zealand markets.